Interstate 69 efforts to link South Texas with other states lauded by lawmakers

AUSTIN - Efforts to complete Interstate 69 through South and East Texas, linking states from Texas to Michigan, were lauded by lawmakers and the Governor on Wednesday.

“It’s going to spur new growth,” Gov. Rick Perry said as a guest at an event in the Texas Capitol. “We’re starting to see some benefits of this very long process.”

The proposed interstate would stretch 1,600 miles through eight states, with a six-mile portion of the highway traveling near Corpus Christi on U.S. Highway 77.

The Texas Department of Transportation has dedicated more than $600 million to the I-69 project.

“Texas is a fast-growing state ... the activities at the port in Corpus Christi in the petrochemical sector, the agricultural sector, those are all huge opportunities. I-69 is a very important piece of that puzzle,” TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson said after the conference.

TxDOT officials have told lawmakers writing the budget this week that the agency may need $4 billion a year, at a time when the state has several billion dollars to work with and ballooning Medicaid costs and higher education capital requests. That is on top of calls from educators to undo about $5.4 billion in public education cuts during the last legislative session.

Perry also has called for $3.7 billion in water and transportation infrastructure out of the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which may have a balance of $11.8 billion in two years, and to give back $1.8 billion in tax relief.

The governor also wants to stop diverting certain funds from the Texas Department of Public Safety and earmark it for roads, saving about $1.3 billion for transportation, he said.

“I-69 represents ... a very vital component to a thriving and growing economy, not just to East Texas, and for that matter not just in South Texas, but actually all across the state,” Perry said.

A group in support of the corridor, the Alliance for I-69 Texas, started in 1994 and has worked to get support for the Interstate across all levels of government. Congress made the corridor a “high priority corridor in 1991,” according to Alliance for I-69 Texas materials.

About 200 miles of I-69 are at or near interstate highway standards, according to the materials.

“Just a few short days ago,” 28 miles were designated along U.S. 59 around Houston, Texas Transportation Commissioner Jeff Austin said to applause from the dozens of officials and staff at the Capitol.

Wilson said the interstate could address roadway needs in South Texas, and more trade in the wake of a Panama Canal expansion.

The Eagle Ford Shale boom has increased changed the dynamic for much of Texas, Port of Corpus Christi Commissioner Judy Hawley said, leaving a need for safety and capacity on roads.

The push for I-69 already has helped with safety, said State Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, the vice chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

“You have really saved lives, probably, in the state of Texas,” Otto said.